The invention relates firstly to a sunshade assembly for use in an open roof construction for a vehicle, comprising a flexible sunshade screen that, with its one end, can be wound on or off a spring-loaded winding cylinder and that at its other end comprises a transversally extending pulling beam, and further comprising two spaced, longitudinally extending guides each defining a guiding channel for receiving and guiding two opposite lateral ends of the pulling beam and for defining a guiding plane in which the sunshade screen extends, wherein both guides are provided with at least partially flexible members extending along substantially the entire length of the guides and protruding towards said guiding plane for engagement with the pulling beam. Such a sunshade assembly is known from EP-A-1.112.876.
In an inoperative (fully opened) position of a known previous type of such a sunshade assembly the sunshade screen is fully wound on the spring-loaded winding cylinder. When the sunshade screen has to be positioned in an operative (fully opened) position, the pulling beam is manually gripped and moved away from the spring-loaded winding cylinder which then unwinds the flexible sunshade screen. In the desired position of the sunshade screen the pulling beam is locked to the guides. A sunshade assembly of this previous known type generally has two positions, i.e. a fully opened position (sunshade screen fully wound on the winding cylinder) and a fully closed position (sunshade screen fully wound off the winding cylinder). The fully opened position will be defined by abutment elements against which the pulling beam abuts; the fully closed position is defined by a locking mechanism engaging the pulling beam.
The sunshade assembly discussed above has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, it does not allow a positioning thereof in intermediate positions between the fully opened and fully closed position. Secondly, when moving the sunshade screen from the fully closed position towards the fully opened position, a user has to maintain a firm grasp onto the pulling beam, because elsewise the pulling beam with sunshade screen would move towards the winding cylinder in an uncontrolled manner, due to the spring load of the winding cylinder. Such an uncontrolled movement would lead to high loads and stresses, especially when the pulling beam reached its end position at the above mentioned abutment elements.
The sunshade assembly known from EP-A-1.112.876, already presented an improvement over said previously known sunshade assembly, because the at least partially flexible members engage the pulling beam, and friction between the pulling beam and flexible members will be created, which prevents the uncontrolled movement of the pulling beam and sunshade screen. Often the friction created between the at least partially flexible members and the pulling beam is sufficient to maintain the pulling beam and sunshade screen in any desired position, notwithstanding the force generated by the spring-loaded winding cylinder. However, it is also conceivable, that the friction generated between the pulling beam and the at least partially flexible members is only sufficient for preventing an uncontrolled movement of the pulling beam, but insufficient for fully stopping the movement thereof.